NOTRE DAME’S win over Penn State in the CFP semifinal drew in millions of viewers fewer than last year.
The closely fought contest saw the Fighting Irish steal victory in the fourth quarter, winning 27-24.
Notre Dame-Penn State took a hit on viewers compared to last year[/caption]
The Fighting Irish reached the National Championship Game with a 27-24 win[/caption]
Notre Dame boast a 13-1 record this season and will take on Ohio State in the National Championship Games following their win over the Texas Longhorns.
But just 17.8million viewers tuned in for Notre Dame’s win over Penn State, a sharp drop from last year’s total.
In 2024 27.8m people watched Alabama take on Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
However that game was played on a holiday – New Year’s Day.
The Notre Dame-Penn State clash was the first semifinal to be played on a non-holiday Thursday night, which may have affected viewership.
ESPN attracted an audience of 16.9m while ESPN2 and ESPNU brought in 733,000 and 144,000 viewers respectively.
The last Orange Bowl CFP semifinal game took place on New Year’s Day in 2021, and had a marginally higher viewership of 17.2m.
Thursday’s game is on the low end in terms of viewers – only five semifinals have been lower out of the 21 semifinal games since the multiteam playoff was introduced in 2005.
The National Championship Game takes place on Monday January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Notre Dame is aiming to win a 12th national championship and its first since 1988.
Ohio State recognise eight national championships – including two since Notre Dame’s last, in 2002 and 2014.
As an independent FBS program, Notre Dame have pocketed a bumper $20m bonus for reaching the National Championship game.
Notre Dame will reportedly get to keep the full amount for itself since it doesn’t have any affiliation.
The Fighting Irish are an ACC affiliate in other sports.
But they remain independent in football, which allows them to keep all of the money they earn through various outlets.
College football top 25 rankings
BELOW are the top 25 rankings of college football’s best programs for Week 14
- Oregon (13-0)
- Georgia (11-2)
- Texas (11-2)
- Penn State (11-2)
- Notre Dame (11-1)
- Ohio State (10-2)
- Tennessee (10-2)
- Indiana (11-1)
- Boise State (12-1)
- SMU (11-2)
- Alabama (9-3)
- Arizona State (11-2)
- Miami (10-2)
- Ole Miss (9-3)
- South Carolina (9-3)
- Clemson (10-3)
- BYU (10-2)
- Iowa State (10-3)
- Missouri (9-3)
- Illinois (9-3)
- Syracuse (9-3)
- Army (11-1)
- Colorado (9-3)
- UNLV (10-3)
- Memphis (10-2)
Their semifinal had a moment of controversy however after Notre Dame fans threw trash onto the field after a late penalty call.
With 8:48 minutes left in regulation, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar threw an interception to Notre Dame’s Jack Kiser on a pass that was intended for Tyler Warren near the front of the end zone.
The play appeared to be a game-changing turnover, but the refs called a pass interference penalty on Adon Shuler, who was one of two players that double-covered Warren.
Beer bottles were thrown onto the field with one camera zooming in on one that reached the endzone.
